Revenge
by SunlightOnTheWater
Summary: Is a dish best served cold. Ramjet intends to get his. Sequel to Aggressive Negotiations. R&R please. complete
1. New Arrivals

Author's Note: This is a direct sequel to Aggressive Negotiations so if you haven't read it this really won't make much sense. For those of you rejoining the story welcome back! Enjoy and I own nothing but my OCs

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><p><strong>Revenge-New Arrivals<strong>

_"Here in the Mojave desert animals have had millions of years to adapt to the harsh environment. But the lizard, he is going to die"-Rango_

To say that the last five months hadn't been interesting would be to lie. The Autobots and their Decepticon allies under the leadership of Starscream, Megatron's former SIC and killer, to Diego Garcia. For the most part the Decepticons stayed on one end of the island the the Autobots on the other. That didn't mean that the Decepticons didn't help with anything; far from it. In fact those under Starscream's command had become an important part of NEST. Today though relations between the two factions were tense. More Autobots were going to land on Diego Garcia's shores and neither leader was sure how the newcomers would react to the treaty with the Decepticons. Jolt, the Autobot liaison to the Decepticons, and Shadow, the Decepticon liaison to the Autobots, had worked for two days straight to come up with some kind of plan for today and had tentatively gotten it approved.

Ratchet and Flashfire were both preparing their medical tools for anyone who was injured when they arrived but the Autobot medic was having more problems than his Decepticon counterpart. That was mostly due to the fact that Ratchet and Shadow's sparkling, Nova, was into her second sparkling frame which meant she could crawl. That in turn meant she was into everything. With Jolt and Shadow working out final details with Optimus and Starscream Ratchet was watching Nova. Unfortunately for him the silver and light blue sparkling was alert and active.

For the third time that morning Ratchet removed some tool from Nova's tiny fingers and wondered if Flashfire was having as much trouble as he was. Flashfire was bonded to Barricade and the two had a sparkling about an earth week older than Nova, a mech, designation Wildfire. Ratchet figure she was probably having less trouble because Barricade was around to watch Wildfire. Nova let out a chirp and held out her arms to be picked up. She was swooped up moments later by her femme creator and Ratchet's sparkmate Shadow. "She causing trouble," Shadow asked with an amused smirk and Ratchet vented a sigh.

"You just think it's funny because you didn't have to deal with it," he pointed out.

"Of course," Shadow said easily. "Jolt and I finally convinced our not so fearless leaders to follow our plan. It only took a little over forty-eight hours to do so."

Ratchet was about to respond when Lennox's voice over the communication system announced, "Newcomers two minutes in closing."

"Frag," Ratchet hissed and Nova giggled from Shadow's arms. The three headed out to join Starscream, Jazz, Ironhide, Optimus, Jolt, and Flashfire out at the beach. Moments later five pods crashed into the surf before skidding gracefully up onto the sandy beach. Elita was the first one out followed by Chromia. They in turn were followed by Red Alert, Inferno, and finally Ultra Magnus. All five turned to smile at their friends and comrades in arms before freezing at the sight of Decepticons present. Ratchet winced as he heard the sound of weapons coming out. This was going to be an interesting conversation. The medic only hoped that their friends adapted soon or life on Diego Garcia was going to be very difficult.


	2. Above All Else

Author's Note: Thanks to _Exactlywhat_, _anonybot_ (That may actually get worked into the story), and _I am Blueberry_ for reviewing. To _Blueberry_ I get most my terminology from wiki and whatever other people use so for time here's what the more common equivalents I've seen are that I use; Breem=8.3 minutes, Joor= 6.5 hours, and Orn=13 days. As for the whole sparkling I looked at the stories of a few people and then modified it for my use. In this the second frame for a sparkling would be the equivalent of a child between 6 months and 1 year old. I own nothing but my OCs. Enjoy! P.S. my excuse for this quote...I couldn't resist

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><p><strong>Revenge-Above All Else<strong>

_"The very existence of flame throwers proves that some time, somewhere, someone said to themselves, 'You know I want to set those people over there on fire, but I'm just not close enough to get the job done'"-George Carlin_

Above all else Ultra Magnus was a soldier. He had followed orders and in battle he was an excellent warrior. He had spent the past who knows how many vorns battling Decepticons so to see Optimus standing next to the infamous Decepticon SIC as if nothing was wrong was enough to send his brother into turmoil. As the warrior aimed his cannons at Starscream Optimus Prime stepped in front of the traitorous Decepticon. Ultra Magnus almost glitched then and there. "What are you doing?" he asked his brother.

"Megatron is dead and the war is over," Optimus said calmly. "Starscream and the Decepticons are our allies."

"You can't be serious," Chromia snarled and Ultra Magnus had to agree with her. The Decepticons would never willingly help the Autobots. It had to be some kind of a joke.

"Optimus we have a problem," a voice announced from somewhere close to the ground. "We have rogues on the radar not far from here," the voice continued.

"Thank you Will," Optimus said gravely and then turned to look at Starscream. The cowardly Decepticon hesitated a moment and then nodded turning to the others.

"Flashfire get TC and Skywarp. Barricade take charge while I'm gone," the Decepticon ordered and both Decepticons nodded, the femme turning to leave.

"Jolt, Ironhide, come with me," Optimus ordered. "Jazz take control while I'm gone." Optimus' brother turned to give Optimus a strange look in time to see the black Decepticon femme hand a small figure to Ratchet.

"Stay safe," the Autobot medic ordered and she nodded firmly before the medic turned and strode away.

"You can come with us if you wish," Optimus told the newly arrived Autobots. "If you do not however you are not to harm anyone here or you will pay for it in kind."

"I am staying," Elita said after a moment. "I have had enough of fighting for one lifetime."

"I'm staying as well," Red Alert announced.

Inferno, Chromia, and Ultra Magnus exchanged glances before the other two nodded. "We are coming," Ultra Magnus announced to his brother who nodded as if he had expected this. Fifteen earth minutes later he, Ironhide, Chromia, Inferno, Jolt, Starscream, Thundercracker, Skywarp, Optimus, and the black femme whose name they had learned was Shadow were in the air inside a massive plane looking over a radar screen in the center of the hold. All four Decepticons were focused on the image in front of them, trying to figure out which Cybertronians they were going to be facing.

"My guess is dumb and dumber as the two upright ones," Shadow announced after a few moments causing both Thundercracker and Skywarp to snicker.

"Who exactly?" Jolt asked, perfectly relaxed somehow.

"Swindle and Lugnut," Starscream translated for the dark blue Autobot. "The other one can only be one mech."

"Oh slag," Thundercracker said. "We should've brought Blackout."

"And that would help this how exactly?" Chromia asked frostily from her position beside Ironhide.

"Scorponok listens only to two mechs; Megatron and Blackout," Shadow explained and Starscream's optics focused on her. "What?"

"Do you know how to shut him down, even temporarily?" the former SIC asked.

"Possibly but I need to be able to get close to him," the femme said.

"I can help some," Thundercacker said, still studying the screen.

"I can get his attention from the ground," Jolt added and the Decepticon femme nodded.

"ETA two minutes and sixteen seconds," a voice announced and the rear door opened revealing the ground flying by them a few feet down. The Seekers shot out immediately and the others followed. Thundercracker and Shadow instantly zeroed in on Scorponok followed quickly by Jolt. The two mechs were struggling to keep the scorpion mimic distracted long enough for Shadow to even get close to the creature. Starscream and Optimus had converged on Lugnut while Ironhide exchanged blasts with Swindle, Skywarp popping up in random places and distracting Swindle as best he could.

Ultra Magnus shook his head at the organized chaos around him. If he had been told an orn ago that Starscream and Optimus Prime would be working together he would have thought the other Cybertronian had a cracked processor. That was when Lugnut somehow swept the Autobot leader away and zeroed in on Starscream. TC came out of nowhere and pushed his new leader out of the way. Ultra Magnus watched stunned as the sadistic 'Con took the blow meant for Starscream. Never had Optimus' brother seen a Decepticon risk his or her life for anyone else.

The armor on TC's shoulder cracked and some of the wires underneath its protective cover were snapped, leaking energon. "TC a little help here," Jolt cried and the sadistic 'Con was gone before Ultra Magnus could even consider that the Autobot had asked a Decepticon for help. Thundercracker's sudden appearance along with Skywarp warping into place behind the scorpion mimic finally caught Scorponok off guard enough for Shadow to get to his neck. A moment later Scorponok went limp, temporarily offline. Starscream and Optimus unleashed powerful blasts at Lugnut who stumbled and then transformed into a damaged looking safari jeep and sped off, Swindle in the form of a red scooter on his heels.

"I have to hand it to you brother," Ultra Magnus said after a moment as he watched TC, Skywarp, Starscream, and Shadow load Scorponok onto the plane. "This really is something else." That was when he began to accept what Optimus had said. Above all else Ultra Magnus was a soldier and every soldier no matter how well equipped they are has to know when to quit.


	3. A Matter of Payment

Author's Note:So two updates today because this one is really short (but I couldn't resist it). I'll post the second one right after this. I'll admit I was a little nervous about posting the last chapter in a new point of view but no one complained so I'll take that as a good sign. Thanks to _Exactlywhat_ and _I am Blueberry _who reviewed the last chapter and enjoy! I own nothing but my OCs

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><p><strong>Revenge-A Matter of Payment<strong>

_"Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first"-Mark Twain_

After all he had been through in the name of the Decepticon cause Ramjet thought the world would have at least owed him a place to stay. It hadn't worked like that so here he was with a bored Sunstorm, a sulking Swindle, and an injured Lugnut sitting outside in the rain. Life officially stunk. "So what's the plan?" Swindle asked after a moment.

"For now gather reinforcements. Starscream has too many for us to even think about challenging," Ramjet explained.

"Who else is coming?" Lugnut asked and Ramjet tried not to sigh.

"How am I supposed to know?" he grated out. "I've been stuck on this mudball planet while you all were out there."

"Scourge and Lightwire are still active as far as I know," Swindle stated. "Misfire is somehow still online as well."

"Primus hates me," Ramjet moaned quietly just as thunder roared and it started to rain harder. Ramjet groaned and all three of his companions turned to stare at him.

"It's just a little rain," Sunstorm stated calmly.

"I'm surrounded by idiots," Ramjet growled. "Complete idiots." Sunstorm and Swindle both growled as Lugnut tried to figure out if he had just been insulted, proving Ramjet's point.

"I am not an idiot," Sunstorm snapped. "I am a god." Swindle just stalked off to sulk somewhere in peace.

"The universe hates me," Ramjet thought as he looked at his companions. Who knew revenge would be so hard to get?


	4. Sparkling

Author's Note: Once again enjoy and I own nothing but my OCS

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><p><strong>Revenge-Sparkling<strong>

_"The child must know that he is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn't been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him"-Pablo Casals_

Elita found herself in the med bay to have a couple panels on her armor repaired. Ratchet placed the sparkling carefully on the floor and then turned to grab something. The instant his back was turned the sparkling began to crawl off. Elita smiled and picked the young silver and blue Seeker up. The sparkling let out a chirp and tilted her head to one side before trilling. "What's her name?" Elita asked the medic as he went to work on her shoulder.

"Nova," Ratchet said. "And now that she can get around by herself she's become trouble." Nova chirped and then giggled when Elita tickled some of the sensitive wires on the sparkling's side.

"She's adorable," Elita cooed and Nova giggled again.

"She's well aware of that," Ratchet said with a sigh and Elita laughed.

"I assume she's yours," Elita said and the Autobot medic nodded as he finished his work. "Who's your sparkmate then?"

"Shadow," he said. "The black Decepticon femme you say earlier." Elita snickered and Ratchet shot her an odd look. "What?"

"Maybe the twins were right and you really were a Decepticon. After all your sparkmate is one," Elita said between giggles.

Ratchet let out an exasperated sigh and gently took Nova from the pink femme. Nova chirped and cuddled up to her mech creator, little hands wrapped around his neck. It was a cute picture and one Elita wanted to save in her memory. It was nice to know even after all the fighting there was still some good in the world. Suddenly a wry voice from the doorway proclaimed, 'We're back and we brought a friend."

"What?" Ratchet yelped and Elita jumped when she noticed Scorponok.

"Don't worry love," Shadow said with a slight smirk. "You only have to patch him up so we can get him to Blackout before he wakes up."

"Why do you do this to me?" Ratchet moaned and Nova giggled, holding her arms out to her femme creator. Shadow took the sparkling and cradled the young Seeker gently to her chest.

"It's good for you," Ratchet's sparkmate said easily and Elita snickered as she slipped out of the med bay. It looked like Ratchet had his hands full with a sarcastic sparkmate, a curious sparkling, and an unconscious metal scorpion. Elita had no sympathy for the Autobot medic. After all the wrench throwing Ratchet could deal with it. Elita snickered quietly to herself as she went off in search of her sparkmate Optimus Prime.


	5. Expecting

Author's Note: Once again I couldn't resist on the quote... Thank you to _Exactlywhat_ for reviewing (Loved your review!) and enjoy! I own nothing but my OCs

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><p><strong>Revenge-Expecting<strong>

_"Ah-ah. I know what you're thinking; 'Did he fire six shots or only five?' Well to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?'-Dirty Harry_

War had prepared Thundercracker for a lot of things but not for an expecting sparkmate with an already violent temper. Shadow's and Flashfire's mood swings had leveled out eventually. Nieva's still hadn't and right now that wasn't a good thing. The gun range was not going to survive. Neither was TC. Nieva was snarling under breath right now and TC was trying to calm her. That was when she turned her cannons on him. Nieva was not a demolition specialist for nothing and to successfully blow up mechs she had to know how they worked. That made her dangerous. Flashfire and Shadow intervened. The two femme's simply grabbed Nieva's arms and whisked her away. "You're gonna destroy the firing range if you don't get out of it," Flashfire chirped.

"Girl time," Shadow called easily to TC as they dragged his irate but amused sparkmate away. Once they were gone he let out a sigh of relief.

"Got problems," Skywarp called as TC wandered into the main Decepticon hanger.

"I was this close to being blasted into a million little fragments by my own sparkmate," TC called back to his twin. "What do you think?" Only a few months ago Thundercracker would have told Skywarp that he was next but not now. Skywarp's sparkmate, Tavianna, had been killed by Dirge during a battle. Even though he, Nieva, and Shadow had torn Dirge apart the wounds the other Seeker had torn open had yet to fully heal. Skywarp's, Nieva's, and Interra's probably never would. Skywarp snickered and then laughed even harder when Shadow's sudden appearance at his twin's side made TC jump. "Don't slagging do that," TC snarled but Shadow just smirked. "What do you need?"

"We're sparring tonight. Are you in?" she asked and TC felt a flash of excitement. Sparring had once been a regular thing but during the Seekers separation and then the battle against first the Autobots and then rogue Decepticons there had never been time.

"What'd Nieva say?" he asked and Shadow's smirk widened.

"Since Flashfire isn't letting her spar she said that you'd better kick some aft," the black femme said.

"I'm in," TC said.

"Same here," Skywarp said. "When and where?"

"Sunset and outside the central compound," Shadow said before slipping off. The central compound was an area just about in the center of the island where the Autobots and Decepticons occasionally met. It was as good a place to spar as any because at least it had clear space to fly. Sparring on their side of the island in the jungle like area would be slagging difficult. Now that he had something to look forward TC went to find Nieva, hoping that his sparkmate's temper had cooled off some.


	6. Learning to Cooperate

Author's Note: And now an insanely long chapter. Enjoy and I own nothing but my OCs

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><p><strong>Revenge-Learning to Cooperate<strong>

_"I reject your reality and substitute it with my own"-Adam Savage_

It was sunset when a file containing this week's patrol shifts was sent to Ultra Magnus. Day and night at Deigo Garcia was divided into six four hour shifts starting at midnight and shift partners as well as times changing every week. The schedule placed five mechs on duty at all times and a sixth on standby. Two were placed on either side of the island to watch for trouble while one was watching screens either in the Decepticon or Autobot communication room along with the mech or femme on standby. It seemed to be a pretty sound plan except for the fact that it mixed Decepticons in with the Autobots.

The first watch of this week put Jolt and some Decepticon, designation Jetfire, on the Decepticon side of the island while Prowl and Blackout patrolled the Autobot side and Jazz ran communications with Ravage on standby. The second was equally disturbing, placing Skywarp and Ironhide on one side and Thundercracker with Mirage on the other while Rumble ran communications (a mech that small could actually run the entire communications system?) and Bluestreak was on standby. Third shift was better with Autobots guarding the Autobot side and Decepticons guarding the Decepticon side and fourth was the same deal. Fifth was when things started getting strange again. Optimus was on patrol with Starscream of all mechs on the Decepticon side and Wheeljack was with some mech named Crossfire on the Autobot side. The last watch of the night left Sideswipe and Sunstreaker on the Autobot side but put Ultra Magnus with Shadow on the Decepticon side with Soundwave himself running communications and Buzzsaw on standby. It was then that Ultra Magnus decided to seek out his brother.

He found Optimus Prime at the central compound speaking with Jazz about something or other. To one side the Seekers were sparring, their snickers and taunts echoing in the night air. "What is the meaning of this?" Ultra Magnus growled and Jazz grinned widely.

"Told ya so," the silver mech informed his leader who vented a sigh.

"We need to work together to effectively cover the island and learn how to work as a team," Optimus Prime said.

"What's your call?" Arcee asked the Decepticon femme next to her, designation Nieva if Ultra Magnus recalled correctly.

"Interra will get Skywarp out soon, TC will get Interra out for his twin and then it will be TC and Shadow against Starscream. It always is," Nieva responded.

"Get used to it," Optimus said quietly as Nieva was proven right. Ultra Magnus sighed but watched with some curiosity as the three Seekers circled each other. All three were proficient to some degree in fighting on the ground which was unusual for normally airborne Cybertronians. It took some manuvering on Starscream's part but the new Decepticon leader managed to get airborne and the two other Seekers followed him quickly. It soon became evident that neither one of them was a match for Starscream in the air. The former SIC was simply too quick and agile for either of the younger Seekers to defeat. Shadow with her speed and deadly grace outlasted Thundercracker with his speed bursts and deadly brutality but only just. When the two landed Shadow turned to another young Seeker with a wicked grin.

"Your turn," she called to him but he shook his head.

"Come on Jetfire," Nieva called. "You're the only one besides Shadow who even has a chance of beating him."

"Not doing it," Jetfire said. "Thanks but no thanks."

"Just do it," TC prodded from his position next to Nieva.

"Nope," Jetfire said. "No way on Earth or anywhere else in the known universe." They shrugged and let him be after that

"Bumblebee will arrive at around 7:30 tomorrow morning with Sam and Mikaela," Optimus told Starscream. "It would be helpful if you would let me explain the situation."

"Gladly," Starscream said before slipping off after his young SIC. Ultra Magnus vented a sigh as he watched his older brother leave and then turned to find Shadow a few feet away.

"Ready for four hours of boredom?" she querried.

"It's only boring if you're lucky," Ultra Magnus couldn't help but point out as he followed her. He was grateful that she stuck to the ground, making it easier for him to follow her.

"Point," Shadow said as she stepped out into the moonlit beach on the Decepticon edge of the island. "Soundwave is on communications so if we see any suspicious activity we report it to him first."

"I was probably fighting before you were sparked," Ultra Magnus pointed out sourly. "Don't presume you need to tell me what to do."

"Touchy Autobot," was all she said before turning to survey the sky. They watched in silence and for the sake of his sanity Ultra Magnus tried to quell his anxiety.

Finally he felt it necessary to break the silence so he would at least know that the Decepticon was still around. "So when were you sparked?" he asked, feeling slightly chargrined that he may have made a mistake.

"No idea," she said. "To put it in human terms I'm adopted."

"But you share a bond with Starscream," Ultra Magnus protested.

"Young Seekers form bonds easily," she said with a shrug. Then she turned to face him with a smirk. "Don't worry. I won't leave you high and dry."

"There's a reason behind this statement I'm sure," Ultra Magnus said warily before turning to scan the sky and then the jungle behind them.

"There were consequences for skipping out early without permission when Megatron controlled the Decepticons," she stated carefully after a moment. "They weren't always exactly sane."

"Megatron wasn't exactly sane either," Ultra Magnus put in before he froze, realizing what he had just told the Decepticon. Shadow just laughed.

"There are rumors they he was once but I missed seeing him sane," she said easily before turning back to guard duty. The remainder of their four hours passed then without event and it was only when Jolt and Jetfire arrived at midnight to replace them did Ultra Magnus realize that some of the tension had faded after their conversation. Maybe this could work.


	7. Distrust

Author's Note: Thanks to _I am Blueberry_ who reviewed the last chapter (you still have at least one more chapter before _all_ hell breaks lose). Enjoy and I own nothing but my OCs

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><p><strong>Revenge-Distrust<strong>

_"Fear is the twin of Faith's sworn foe; Distrust. If one breaks in your heart the other must"-Ella Wheeler Wilcox_

The first words Chromia said about the Autobot/Decepticon Alliance were, "I don't like this."

"It works Chromia," Ironhide said even though he had experienced the same doubt when they had originally formed an alliance. "We've worked together before."

"They've attacked us and double crossed us more times than I can count," Chromia snapped. "What makes you think this is going to end up differently?"

"Chromia, Megatron is dead. Starscream killed him for a chance at peace. Ratchet is bonded to Shadow. Jolt and Jetfire are best friends. Starscream and Optimus talk on a regular basis without trying to kill each other. It is different," Ironhide told his sparkmate.

"Megatron and Optimus were brothers. Have you forgotten that?" Chromia retorted sharply.

"No," Ironhide growled. "Just give it a chance Mia."

"Fine," Chromia said after a moment. "For now but if something goes wrong I'm shooting first and asking questions later."

"I would expect nothing less of you," Ironhide said. "Now let's get some rest before either of us has to go on patrol."

When Ironhide came out of recharge a little before four in the morning to join Skywarp on patrol Chromia was still asleep. He left her and joined the carefree purple and black Seeker, freeing Jetfire and Jolt from their duty on the Decepticon side. Even while watching for enemies Ironhide kept an eye on Skywarp. Ever since Tavianna's death Skywarp had been a little more subdued. "How's Nieva?" Ironhide asked finally just for something to say to keep the Seeker from brooding.

"Fine. Grouchy," he said with a snicker. "TC's lucky he's survived this long. Is Chromia going to shoot us on sight?"

"I think I've almost convinced her not to," Ironhide replied. "Why?"

"Because my dodging isn't all that great," Skywarp replied. Ironhide stared at the Seeker in astonishment, not that Skywarp really cared. If there was one thing Ironhide had learned about being around Skywarp it was that astonishment was normal.

"Can't you just warp?" Ironhide asked.

"Last time I warped when she was firing at me she waited until I started appearing and then blasted me," Skywarp explained. "It hurt." Ironhide snickered as the Seeker went back to surveying the skies.

"How are they on the other side of the island?" Ironhide asked after a couple hours of silence.

"TC says good," Skywarp said instantly, proof of how close the Seeker twins' bond was. The only other bond like it was Sideswipe and Sunstreaker's. When Barricade and Interra replaced he and Skywarp, Ironhide went to find Chromia hoping that she hadn't blasted any Decepticons. What he was greeted by was Chromia, Elita, and Arcee all talking about something. When Chromia saw him she stood up, motioning her sisters aside.

"Ironhide I have some news," she said.

"What is it Mia?" he asked, instantly concerned for her welfare.

"Ratchet did a check up on all of us that arrived and he found out something," Chromia said. "I'm carrying." Ironhide hugged her and Chromia laughed against his shoulder. "Maybe it's a good thing we have a treaty with the Decepticons," she said softly as Elita and Arcee slipped out of the room, Arcee to find either Bumblebee or Mikaela and Sam and Elita probably to go tell Optimus the news. "That way I don't have to worry about you not being surrounded by ruthless warriors." Ironhide laughed at that too. There was peace, no sign of rogue activity, and Chromia was carrying. Maybe things would start working out now.


	8. Government Troubles and Insecurities

Author's Note: Sorry for the shortness of the update but the ending seemed as good a place to end it as possible for the next sequence which I promise will be longer. Thank you to _I am Blueberry_ (I may just use one of your names) for reviewing the last chapter and enjoy

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><p><strong>Revenge-Government Troubles and Insecurity<strong>

_"The best minds are not in government. If any were business would steal them away"-Ronald Regan_

"So I'm supposed to tell you that the government has issues with the Decepticons being here," Sam told Optimus. "We may have done too good of a job convincing them that the 'Cons are dangerous."

"I'll speak to Starscream and we'll see what we can come up with," Optimus said.

"I think it'll be ok," Sam said in an attempt to reassure the Autobot leader. "Mikaela, Will, and I will all stand up for them and so will Morshower."

"Thank you Sam," Optimus said to the teen who just shrugged and looked slightly embarrassed.

"I do my best," Sam said before Will called him over about something or other.

Optimus smiled slightly and then left to join Starscream on patrol. Normally he and the Seeker spoke about old memories and odd war stories but today Starscream seemed silent and brooding. "Are you alright?" Optimus asked and Starscream shrugged. "Problems," Optimus pressed and Starscream vented a sigh.

"You just don't give up do you?"

"What kind of an Autobot would I be if I gave up?" Optimus quipped and Starscream managed a slight smile at that. "Now what's the problem?"

"I wasn't supposed to lead after Megatron died. Did you know that?" Starscream said after a moment and Optimus got the impression that the Decepticon was choosing his words carefully.

"No. Who was?"

"Originally a moron who was more power hungry than Megatron," Starscream said. "Then Soundwave. When we came to Earth Soundwave told me it would best if I took over after Megatron died. I never wanted this."

"Not even earlier on with the war?" Optimus asked.

"Perhaps then but now? Leader a group of glitch head half-processored mechs that would rather have war than peace isn't what I bargained for," Starscream said with the hint of a smirk. "Of course Ramjet has it worse."

"Does he ever," a dry voice commented from behind them. Optimus turned to see Shadow standing there but Starscream didn't so much as twitch.

"What are you doing here?"

"Making sure you aren't brooding," Shadow said seriously. She glanced up at the sky and Starscream vented another sigh.

"Because heaven forbid I brood," he commented dryly.

"Of course," Shadow said absentmindedly. "It isn't in your job description." That was when she oh so casually stepped in front of Starscream and took the blast that Ramjet had intended for the new Decepticon leader. As she stumbled and fell to her knees the base buzzed into action and warriors from both factions came running as did Flashfire. Optimus feared that the medic may already be too late.


	9. To The Death

Author's Note: Thanks to _I am Blueberry_ who reviewed my last chapter! Enjoy and I own nothing but my OCs

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><p><strong>Revenge-To The Death<strong>

_"Prince Humperdink: First thing's first, to the death_

_Westley: No. To the pain"-The Princess Bride_

When Shadow collapsed Starscream felt nothing but an overwhelming fury. Like a bloody tide it washed over him bathing the world in red as all his hate focused on one mech in particular. Ramjet. The bloody traitor was going to pay for that. With his life if possible. He wasn't the only one who thought that. Skywarp and TC were both in the air before the Autobots could even react. Barricade had to physically hold Nieva back at Flashfire's request as Interra and Jetfire joined their comrade. Starscream focused on Ramjet and took off, colliding with the self satisfied Seeker in the background. The two clashed as they shot through the air toward the water. At the last minute Starscream pulled free and reversed. Ramjet wasn't so lucky.

The brutal fighter crashed into the water and came up floundering. If it wasn't for another Seeker, Misfire Starscream noted with some amusement, Ramjet would have drowned. Lightwire and Sunstorm attempted to hold off Interra, TC, Skywarp, and Jetfire but were failing. Ramjet managed to limp damply into the air and his optics focused on Starscream as he shook Misfire off his shoulder. "You are going to pay for that," he snarled.

"Not likely," Starscream said, ice running through him. "You, however, will pay for every inch of damage you cause. Every single death or injury. And I will personally see to that." Starscream had never understood before what could allow someone to torture another of their species as Megatron had. Now he did. The fury, the urge to hurt Ramjet for injuring and possibly killing the one who was both a daughter and student to him was overwhelming. And then Starscream saw a flicker of fear in Ramjet's optics before his enemy dove at him. Starscream dove, grabbed Ramjet by the back of one of his wings and threw the other Seeker into Misfire.

TC blasted Misfire in the chest, his rage pulsing through the family bond the group of Seekers shared. Thundercracker considered Shadow a little sister, albeit one who could hold her own against almost anyone. Hurting her was unacceptable. The pair went flying leaving even Sunstorm and Livewire staring at their cursing leader as he disentangled himself from a rapidly falling MIsfire. Of course Misfire wasn't dead; Ramjet couldn't be that lucky, and was moments later back airborne but looking extremely unwilling to attack again. "I will kill you," Starscream promised as Ramjet's optics met his. "Slowly and painfully." Ramjet looking away and called a swift retreat. Starscream felt no satsifaction. He may have lost more today than they had gained.

He landed smoothly with TC and Jetfire instinctively flanking him and Interra and Skywarp right behind them. Flashfire was kneeling next to Shadow working furiously. Energon stained her hands but the medic didn't seem to notice. There was a furiously determined look in her optics that kept even Starscream from saying anything. Flashfire was not about to let her best friend die; slag orders and slag Starscream if he tried to stop or distract her. Starscream kept his silence. Mild mannered Flashfire became a living tyrant when one of her patients was in any sort of peril. After several long minutes that seemed like eternity she paused in her work and looked at Starscream. "She's stable enough to be moved. I need to get her back to my med bay. I need my supplies," she snapped and Starscream nodded. He, TC, and Jetfire worked in smooth, bond coordinated tandem to lift Shadow carefully and move into the jungle. Flashfire followed close behind as Interra, Skywarp, and Nieva stayed to attempt to smooth things over with the Autobots.

Once Shadow was in the med bay Flashfire shooed them away and went back to work. She threw everything she had learned from her own experiences and from Hook when the other medic was still alive into her work. She sealed energon lines and removed wires to replace them. Then when she moved toward the spark chamber she turned all her focus to what she was doing. The chamber itself was uninjured but what she saw made her pause for just an instant. Then she shook her head and turned back to what she was doing. She could consider what she had just seen later.

At sunset Flashfire stepped out of the med bay and was greeted by Nieva. "How is she?" the femme Seeker asked, seeming tired and drawn as Flashfire felt.

"She's fine," Flashfire said tiredly. "She and the one she's carrying will be fine."

"You did not just say that," Nieva asked, optics turning on fully at that. Flashfire nodded and Nieva laughed quietly before gasping in pain.

"Are you alright?" Flashfire asked.

"Fine," Nieva said. "I've just been hurting on and off since earlier this afternoon. No big deal."

"Where at?"

"Right here," Nieva said, bringing a hand to the lower part of her chassis. Then Nieva gasped again and collapsed.

"Slag," Flashfire said tiredly as she dragged Nieva into the med bay. "Why today?" It looked like she wasn't going to get to sleep any time soon.


	10. Double Take

Author's Note: Thanks to _Exactlywhat_ (I understand completely your reason for not being able to review! No big deal!) and _I am Blueberry_ (Autocons...I like it) for reviewing the last chapter. To answer _Exactlywhat's_ very good question this is what happens to Ratchet when Shadow is hurt. Enjoy and I own nothing but my OCS

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><p><strong>Revenge-Double Take<strong>

_"Hey white liar. The truth comes out a little at a time. And it spreads just like a fire. Slips off your tongue like turpentine."-White Liar, Miranda Lambert_

Chromia was confused. It wasn't often something like that happened but it also wasn't often that her view of the world was turned on its head. She had thought Decepticons were self serving glitch heads that would rather live another day than give up their lives for someone else. And she had just stood there and watched like an idiot as the Decepticon femme took the killing blast meant for Starscream. As she collapsed everything happened at once. Somehow TC and Skywarp were in the air with Interra and Jetfir right behind them. Barricade was holding Nieva back as Starscream's tracking optics found what they were looking for and the Decepticon leader slammed hard into Ramjet. She had watched the Decepticons carry their wounded away and for the first time she wondered if she hadn't been wrong.

Her second thought was of Ratchet. Why wasn't the medic here with his wounded sparkmate? Quietly she made her way to the Autobot med bay. Her first sign that something was wrong was a persistent wailing. In the main room of the med bay Nova was on the floor wailing. Tears were pouring down the sparkling's optics as Chromia picked her up in an attempt to comfort her. Elita came in a moment later and looked over everything with a worried glance. Then she held her arms out for Nova. Chromia handed the sparkling over and then slipped into the next room to find Ratchet doubled over on the floor and twitching slightly with pain.

"Ratchet," Chromia yelped and knelt next to the medic. "What is it?"

"Seeker bonds are...stronger than...normal bonds," Ratchet grated out between short gasps of pain. "I can...feel...everything that...she is." Chromia winced. The pain must be excruciating. "Please tell me...she had...a...good reason to do this," Ratchet hissed.

"She saved Starscream's life," Chromia said softly. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Just...see to Nova," Ratchet gasped out. "And pray to...Primus that...she survives."

"I will," Chromia promised and left the room. She saw Nova hiccupping in Elita's arms and looking worn out.

"How's Ratchet?" Elita asked, her calm tone laced with concern.

"In pain. Evidentially Seeker bonds are stronger than normal family bonds," Chromia said grimly. "I never thought I'd say this about a Decepticon but I hope she survives."

"As do I," Elita agreed. "As do I."

New didn't come until after sunset and it came in the form of a slightly excited Skywarp. "She's going to be fine," he said before slipping into the next room to find Ratchet. "She's going to be fine Ratchet. Flashfire numbed the pain sensors so the pain should go away soon." The medic nodded and after a moment stood. "Also Nieva's sparkling decided it was done being carried," Skywarp added as an afterthought.

"Poor Flashfire," Ratchet managed with a weak chuckle, taking Nova from Elita and sitting down. Skywarp snickered.

"Turns out it's a mech. Designation Reverb after a fallen comrade of ours," Skywarp said. "Flashfire's in recharge right now as is your sparkmate. Patrols are being held up by the humans tonight."

Ratchet nodded as Nova snuggled up against his chassis, stirring slightly in her sleep. "Also Shadow is carrying again," Skywarp added in a quieter tone just after Chromia and Elita slipped out of the med bay to spread to the good news to their sparkmates.

"What?" Ratchet asked in a dangerously cold tone. The feelings coming off his muted bond with the Autobot medic made Skywarp take a step back.

"Flashfire says Shadow probably didn't know yet. It was a very recent thing," Skywarp said quickly. "Anyway you can see her tomorrow morning." Then the Seeker dashed out leaving Ratchet to shake his head in amusement.


	11. What Matters

Author's Note: Thanks to _I am Blueberry_ and _Exactlywhat_ (sort of mine in a way thought not sure where it came from...) for reviewing the last chapter. Enjoy and I own nothing but my OCs

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><p><strong>Revenge- What Matters<strong>

_"Other things may change us but we start and end with family"-Anthony Brandt_

_"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind"-Dr. Seuss_

Family. Shadow didn't know how it had been defined before the war but during the Autobot/Decepticon war it had been defined as those with whom you had a bond. Your emotions were shared and you trusted your family with your back. Now with aggression gone family was something more. It was those who you were around that you cared about more than your own life. Shadow hadn't really understood the Autobot inner workings until now. She hadn't understood why they would give up their lives for each other willingly. She would have never died for Megatron; at least not of her own free will. She would die for any of her comrades now.

Family had become something else to Shadow though too. She had a sparkmate in the opposite faction and had successfully carried a sparkling. She was now carrying another one. Family had become a part of her and facing her furious sparkmate was quickly becoming the norm. Shadow wasn't really surprised when Ratchet stormed in on a war path. He was a medic and as soon as he found out she was carrying her veered toward overprotective. Last time the result had been several arguments.

"What were you thinking?" Ratchet snapped as soon as Flashfire let her out of the med bay.

"If Prime was about to be shot would you step in front of him?" Shadow asked, already heading outside with Ratchet keeping pace with her.

"Yes," Ratchet said. "But you're carrying."

"I didn't know that," Shadow snapped, trying to regain a hold on her temper.

"I can't lose you," Ratchet said softly after a moment. Shadow vented a sigh and then turned to face her sparkmate and other half.

"Do you think I could lose you?" she asked him and he ruefully shook his head. "I don't take unreasonable risks love," she told him and then continued walking at a slower pace. "Where's Nova?"

"With Elita," Ratchet said. "She seems to have taken a liking for the other femme." Shadow grinned and shook her head slightly. "So Nieva had her sparkling," he said after a moment of comfortable silence.

"Yup, Reverb," Shadow said. "If there's any just in the world he'll be a holy terror. Let's hope there's no justice." Ratchet laughed at that.

"So mech or femme this time?" Ratchet asked and Shadow grinned.

"Mech this time," she said easily. "One of each."

"Chromia is carrying, you're carrying, anyone else I should know about?" Ratchet asked after a moment of thought.

"Nope," Shadow said, popping the p. "None other than Chromia and I. Speaking of Chromia I heard that she might not kill us all after yesterday night."

"You heard right. You made her change her mind. And Starscream threatened to kill Ramjet."

Shadow snorted. "He would. He was always a little overprotective though it was worse when I was younger."

"I believe that Jazz had some experience with that," Ratchet said and Shadow laughed.

"That he did." They made their way back to the Autobot base in comfortable silence, comforted in the fact that they were both online and safe. They had each other and that was what mattered for now.


	12. A Little Insane

Author's Note: Thanks to _Exactlywhat_ and _I am Blueberry_ for reviewing the last chapter. Enjoy and I own nothing but my OCs

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><p><strong>Revenge-A Little Insane<strong>

_"I was fast, I was light, and I wasn't afraid of playing dirty. I was small and flexible and-as Lance muttered at one point-completely insane"-Raised by Wolves, Jennifer Lynn Barnes_

Shadow and Chromia both hated to be confined and had, at least at one point, lived for the fight so it wasn't exactly surprising that they ended up sparring at one point. Neither of their sparkmates were very happy about it. Neither of them cared. The match up was an interesting one to say the least. Chromia was a larger build and strong as well as being tough as nails and having enough firepower to start a munitions factory. Shadow was smaller and light on her feet as well as proficient in hand to hand, at least to some extent, and not worried about fighting dirty. What started as a violent fight with insults flung on both sides had ended up at a test of their limits. That was when Lennox's voice rang out over the base saying, "Four unknowns incoming. ETA three point seven minutes."

Both femmes disengage with smiles that acknowledged to other's skill and headed for the beach. Shadow had a pretty good idea who was coming and looking at Barricade she could tell that he guessed too. Flashfire was holding Wildfire at his side and Nieva and TC were next to them with Reverb. Ratchet and Nova arrived moments later as the comets crashed through the atmosphere to hit the water with four massive splashes. Moments later four figures clearly marked as Decepticons splashed up on to shore. The first one was the a little taller than Barricade with maroon and dark blue armor. His guns were out as soon as he saw the Autobots and ready to fire before Barricade growled, "Hold your fire."

Roller Force would have ignored that but the yellow and purplish blue mech a little smaller than Barricade, designation Motorhead, smacked Roller Force in the back of the head. The final mech, yellow and purple, stepped between his two teammates to keep them from killing each other. Typical Ground Hog. Flashfire managed the give the field medic and nod before focusing on the final arrival. It was a femme Seeker that was a silvery color with veins of pale mint green running through her body. Her designaion was Skysong and she was Flashfire's apprentice. "Flashfire," the femme said with a tilt of her head and Shadow noticed with some amusement that Jolt was staring at the pretty femme.

"Skysong," Flashfire returned and the younger femme smiled, walking over to her mentor.

"I'll take care of these three," Barricade said, motioning for his team to follow him toward the Decepticon side of the base. Shadows shook her head, knowing there would be protests on that end. Flashfire and Skysong had already vanished leaving the Autobots looking vaguely confused.

"And who exactly were they?" Inferno growled and Shadow turned to face him.

"Ground Hog, Motorhead, Roller Force, and Skysong," she rattled off. "Ground Hog's a field medic, Motorhead and Roller Force are fighters. All three of them serve under Barricade and he'll keep them in line. Skysong is Flashfire's apprentice."

"And why weren't we informed of this sooner?" Ultra Magnus asked irritably and Shadow sensed he wasn't happy about not being informed about the possible new arrivals.

"We didn't know for sure," she responded, holding her anger in check.

"So?" Inferno snapped. "You should have told us your suspicions."

Shadow was about to respond but Chromia beat her to it. "Why are you all putting her down? She told you what you needed to know when you needed to know it. If they had suspected it would be an enemy they would have warned us," the blue femme snapped. Shadow realized then that her and Chromia's sparring match may have given her a new ally.

"But it's a security risk," Inferno argued.

"Now you sound like Red Alert," Chromia snapped. "He's here and he's not upset about it." At that most the Autobots turned to stare incredulously at the normally paranoid security chief.

"I trust them to tell me what I need and Soundwave doesn't lie," Red Alert said with a shrug before going back into one of the warehouses.

"That settles it then," Chromia said. "Come one Shadow; we have a sparring match to finish." Shadow smirked widely and followed her new friend back to the proving grounds without another word. What was there to say anyway? Chromia had already said it all.


	13. Promising Recruits

Author's Note: Thanks to _Exactlywhat_ (I'll go and look for typos...some days my grammar stinks!) and _I am Blueberry_ for reviewing the last chapter! You guys keep me going when the going gets tough! Enjoy and I own nothing but my OCs

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><p><strong>Revenge-Promising Recruits<strong>

_"Peace is our profession. Mass murder is just a hobby"-several different military units_

Ramjet and a few others watched three comets flash through the atmosphere and crash a few feet away from them. The first one free was a black femme with wine red accents. Ramjet mentally cursed his luck. Fracture may have been completely loyal to Megatron and everything the once Decepticon leader stood for but she wasn't all there. Her processor had been damaged in a battle and now she was prone to hysterical laughter and exploding everything in sight during a battle.

The next figure free was a blue and grey mech who had the aim of Misfire, not because he couldn't aim but because he didn't believe in aiming. Storm Surge was well known to take out the enemy _and_ anyone in close range with napalm or whatever else he was blasting. Once again Ramjet wondered if the universe hated him.

The final arrival showed a little more promise. It was a black mech with poison green highlights on his armor. Overcast was a flier and a scientist that was better at weapons of war than Starscream had ever been. Maybe with Overcast they actually stood a chance of killing Starscream. "Welcome brethren," Ramjet said and all three new arrivals turned to him.

"Where is Megatron?" Fracture asked, her voice an annoyingly high pitch and really not that menacing, unless she was dissolving into hysterical laughter.

"The traitorous SIC, Starscream, murdered our brilliant leader and has taken control of the Decepticons," Ramjet said, hoping he wasn't laying everything on a little too thick.

"So we are under _his_ command," Storm Surge sneered disgustedly. Storm Surge and Starscream had never gotten along.

"No," Ramjet said. "I lead a group of rebels to gather strength and take down Starscream so we can return the Decepticons to their original morals rather than to associate with Autobots." Storm Surge and Fracture were both nodding but Overcast looked thoughtful.

"Who have you convinced to join your cause?" the scientist asked in his soft and low voice.

"Sunstorm, Swindle, Lugnut, Scourge, Misfire, and Lightwire have already joined me," Ramjet said. "We have sent out the call to others but no doubt Starscream has done the same in an attempt to fool them."

"I will join you," Overcast said after a moment of deliberation.

"As will I," Fracture pledged and Storm Surge nodded his agreement. That left the final tally at ten of the rebels against twenty-one of Starscream's Decepticons and who knew how many Autobots. The odds were still not in Ramjet's favor. He intended to change that.


	14. Meet The Jerk

Author's Note: Thanks to _Exactlywhat_ and _I am Blueberry_ for reviewing the last chapter! Enjoy and I own nothing but my OCs. (If I owned I would have done this to Galloway a long time ago)

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><p><strong>Revenge- Meet the Jerk<strong>

_"Common sense is not so common"-Voltaire_

"You mean to tell me that you had more of you alien robots out here and you didn't bother to inform me," Galloway snapped. Sam fought down the urge to roll his eyes but just barely. How was a man this dense in charge of something so important as the publicity of the Autobots?

"We had not have a chance to do so before now," Sam said as calmly as could manage.

"We called your office but couldn't get ahold of you," Major Lennox added. Sam had to fight down a smirk at that. Galloway had been dumped in Egypt and it had taken him this long to just get back to the States and then straight to Diego Garcia. Galloway just huffed.

"I am sorry if we have caused you any inconvenience," Optimus said from his position standing on next to the catwalk. "May I introduce you to Starscream, leader of the Decepticons."

"Hey," Galloway snapped. "Aren't the Decepticons the bad guys? And isn't he the jet that killed so many in Mission City?"

"They are no longer our enemies," Optimus said calmly. "And during Mission City he was acting under Megatron's orders. The now deceased leader of the Decepticons was not one you should cross if you wanted to survive."

It was a good thing that Optimus was speaking because, at least to Sam and Lennox, it looked as if Starscream would have liked very much to squish Galloway. For once Sam was in complete agreement with the jet mimic.

"I would say it was a pleasure to met you, whatever your name is, but it isn't," Galloway sneered at the Decepticon leader.

"Our feelings are mutual then," Starscream replied in an almost emotionless voice that sounded so like Soundwave it made the leader of the Autobots pause. "We shall then spend as little time in each other's presence as possible."

"Good," Galloway snapped. Once again Sam's opinion that the man was an idiot was reaffirmed. That was when the sound of clicking heels coming down the catwalk reached their ears. They all turned to see a young woman in her early twenties walking toward them. She was tall, probably five-eight, and dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans and a white blouse with her long dark hair pulled up in a bun. She was probably of Hispanic origin.

"Public Liaison Galloway?" she asked Galloway politely and he nodded, looking rather stunned. "I believe this is for you," she said, handing him a sealed envelope.

As Galloway read his face began to flush more and more in indignation and his fists clenched tighter around the paper. "This cannot be really," he hissed at her but she simply shrugged.

"They believe you are too biased to continue," she said smoothly. "If you have a problem with this you can go speak to Defense Secretary Keller."

"I will," Galloway snarled and stalked off.

"Now that all that is taken care of allow me to introduce myself," she said, angling her body so she was speaking to all of them. "I am Alejandra Castaneda, your new public liaison."

"Miss Castaneda," Lennox said. "You mean to say that you are replacing Galloway."

"Ale please," she said. "And yes I am replacing Galloway. He was deemed unfit for this job any longer because of an already formed bias when he accepted the job. The delay in replacing him was while they were looking for a replacement."

"And what will Galloway be doin'," Jazz asked, coming over to look at the new member of their crew.

"Taking my position as assistant to the American Liaison at France," Ale said. "They hope he will learn some tact in that position."

"Good luck with that," Sam said with a snort and Ale grinned.

"Is there anything I can do for y'all?" she asked and Sam's rating of her went up another notch. Ale was everything Galloway hadn't been. Where Galloway was snide and sharp and brimming over with dislike Ale was poised and polite and had a cheerfully, unprejudiced attitude.

"Nothing for now," Optimus said. "Welcome to Diego Garcia Miss Casteneda."

"Ale," she corrected easily. "And holler if you need anything." With that she was heading back the way she had come, unaware of the bemused looks that followed her.


	15. Twisted

Author's Note: Thanks to _I am Blueberry_ and _Exactlywhat_ for reviewing the last chapter (it seems Galloway getting fired was a popular decision)! Enjoy and I own nothing but my OCs

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><p><strong>Revenge- Twisted<strong>

_"Always forgive your enemies-nothing annoys them so much"-Oscar Wilde_

Skysong had been through at lot for the time she had existed but being around the Autobots was definitely something new. Their seeming lack of order of strict authority was throwing her off balance. Skysong had grown up in a world where every order was to be followed promptly and without question unless you were Starscream, Soundwave, or someone else with a high enough ranking to hopefully keep you from being slagged. The Autobots argued about every little thing, at least the younger ones, and were constantly pranking each other. Every time Skysong saw Shadow the other femme was simply going with the flow as was Interra. Nieva was too explosive in nature to ever really slide along and Tavianna was gone. Skysong felt a pang in her spark at the loss of her best friend, partner in crime, and older sister. Even with the other bonds Tavianna's still ached like a raw wound.

Her mind drifted to other thoughts while Flashfire and Ratchet discussed something she had long since lost interest in. That was why she was startled when a voice said," Hey."

"Hi," she said, turning to see a cobalt blue Autobot standing there.

"I'm Jolt," he said by way of introduction and Skysong had to hide a smile at his awkwardness. With sisters like she had you quickly got use to anything and everything.

"Skysong," she replied. "Nieva and Interra are my older sisters."

"If you're anything like Nieva we're in deep trouble then," Jolt side with a grin and Skysong laughed.

"Not normally," she replied easily.

"So what do you think of the rogues?" he asked after a moment and Skysong honestly considered his question. Even though she already knew the answer to it she was always prodding it like a sore tooth.

"I feel sorry for them," she said finally with a shrug. "They don't know what to do with peace so they create reason to fight. It must be awful always feeling the urge to kill."

"Skysong," Flashfire called.

"I'll talk to you later?" Skysong asked, suddenly feeling almost shy and he nodded slightly. Then she turned and followed Flashfire off to find Nieva. Off to one side she could see Shadow whispering to Ratchet but she ignored it and continued on her way. She didn't realize that the black femme was talking about her.

"Don't look now but I think someone's falling in love," Shadow told Ratchet with an easy grin as they headed off to the main hanger to get Nova from Elita.

"Jolt and Skysong? I noticed," Ratchet said. "I just wonder how long it'll take them to figure it out."

"I don't know about Jolt but knowing Skysong it might be a bit," Shadow said dryly.

"With the way Jolt was acting around her it'll be a good long while yet then," Ratchet replied with a smirk. They slipped inside the main hanger to see Ale, Epps, and Lennox talking to Optimus and Ironhide while Elita tried to keep an ever curious Nova out of the way. "So are you ever going to explain the reasoning behind her name?" Ratchet asked as he picked up the rambunctious sparkling.

"I'll give you a clue," Shadow said with a smirk. "It has to do with a certain flier that we all look up to."

"Starscream," Ratchet said and Shadow nodded her confirmation. "I don't understand," the medic said as they slipped back out into the midday sunshine.

"Nova was my mentor for a time and would have been Starscream's sparkmate had Megatron not executed her," Shadow said. "It was probably one of the worst mistakes Megatron could make. It only set Starscream more against him than before and erased any doubts he would have had about killing Megatron." Ratchet nodded thoughtfully, considering the new information.

"You know every time I think I know something about the Decepticons you turn it on its head," he said after a moment and Shadow laughed.

"That's what I'm around for," she responded with a grin, taking Nova. "Now you'd better get S and M fixed up before they leak energon all the way to the med bay." Ratchet let out an exasperated sigh and Shadow smirked as she watched him go over to Skids and Mudflap, snarling the whole time about the stupidity of younglings. "What's he going to do when you get to that age?" Shadow asked Nova but the youngling simply chirped tiredly and leaned her head against the black femme's shoulder, content to be next to one of her creator's sparks.


	16. Spying

Author's Note: Sorry for the short chapter but I couldn't think of any way to add to it without taking away anything from future chapters. Thanks to _I am Blueberry_ (I got your message and totally understand) and _Exactlywhat_ for reviewing the last chapter! Enjoy and I own nothing

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><p><strong>Revenge- Spying<strong>

_"You didn't see me, I wasn't there, and I'm not there now"-U.S. Navy Communication Technicians_

Mirage had landed on Earth two of their days ago and seen no sign of any Cybertronians. His long range scanners weren't working but this evening his short range scanners had detected some kind of Cybertronian activity. That was why he was behind an rock outcropping with his cloaking device activated. Hot Rod was safely hidden about twenty miles away leaving Mirage to find out what kind of signal he had detected. The first thing he saw when he peered out from behind his hiding place was there were several fliers. Since Silverbolt had been offlined along with Slingshot and Air Raid late in the war and Skydive and Fireflight had vanished he guessed these mechs and femmes were Decepticons.

"So what exactly is going on again?" a voice asked. Fracture. The pitch was too high and unmenacing to be anyone else.

"I've told you," a mech's voice snarled. "Starscream betrayed and killed Megatron before taking over the Decepticons by force. He joined up with Prime and they killed Shockwave and many others." Starscream had finally managed to kill Megatron? That was interesting. More so was the news that the Decepticons under the insane Seeker were allied with the Autobots.

"And where is Soundwave, Ramjet? Tell me that," another mech's voice challenged.

"With the traitor Storm Surge," Ramjet growled but his voice held little of the menace that Megatron's had. Rather it was filled with exasperation.

"And you have a plan I assume," Fracture sneered.

"Yes. Tell us the plan," another voice said. Sunstorm. The ammount of gloating and self-satisfaction in the tone made it obvious as to who was speaking.

"We will create drones. Everything we need is in storage on the _Nemesis_ and a few change locking codes won't stop us from getting in," Ramjet snarled. "Then we'll attack Diego Garcia by night when they don't expect it and overwhelm them." Mirage shivered. It was a good enough plan that it might work. He turned and crept away to where Hot Rod was waiting.

"It was Decepticons...sort of," Mirage told his younger partner. "Is your internet access still working?"

"Yeah," Hot Rod said, a question obvious in his tone.

"Find the quickest route to Diego Garcia," Mirage ordered. They had to go warn Optimus before it was too late.


	17. Unexpected Arrival

Author's Note: Thanks to _I am Blueberry_ (I just hope I don't butcher his personality too badly) _,Exactlywhat_ (yes he is ;D) and _Ridptide2_ for reviewing the last chapter! Enjoy and I own nothing but my OCs

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><p><strong>Revenge-Unexpected Arrival<strong>

_"Always mystify, mislead, and surprise the enemy if possible"-Thomas J. Jackson_

Jolt didn't know what he expected of the hour two in the morning for his watch on the Decepticon side of Diego Garcia but almost being killed by Mirage hadn't been on the agenda. One minute he had been watching the skies patrolling with Jetfire and in the next he was tackled to the ground. He and his attacker crashed to the ground with a bang and Jetfire had a blaster aimed at Mirage's back. "Hold," Jolt yelped and Jetfire put away the weapon.

"Jolt?" Mirage asked, helping the younger mech up. "Then I guess we found the right spot. Nice job Hot Rod."

"I told you we were going the right way," Hot Rod said, stepping out from the shadows. Jetfire had his head tilted to one side and his optics were dimmed as he communicated over the com.

"Jazz says you're not responding Jolt," his friend said finally. "He wants to know what's going on. He's not far from sending Ravage out so I'd com him."

Jolt nodded and established and link. _::Jolt to Jazz. Now will you stop threatening to send Ravage out?::_

_::Depends. What's going on?::_ Jazz responded quickly.

_::Nothing much::_ Jolt drawled over the com. _::Just the fact that Mirage and Hot Rod showed up. Other than that it's all quiet on the western front::_

_::That's good then::_ Jazz responded. _::Wait? Mirage and Hot Rod are __**here**__?::_

_::Yup::_Jolt said with a smirk that made Jetfire survey him curiously. _::What do you want me to do about that?::_

_::I'll wake the boss and send 'em out your way soon. Be prepared Jolt::_ Jazz replied and then shut the link.

"So you want to explain what's going on right now?" Mirage drawled.

"And why you're with a 'Con," Hot Rod added, glaring at Jetfire who look unfazed. In fact Jolt's friend was focused on the sky. Which Jolt wouldn't have found all that surprising except that in one minute Jetfire was on the ground and in the next he was airborne.

Jetfire and Sunstorm collided in midair with a massive bang and the young Seeker struggled to hold back the older and stronger one. "Slag," Jolt cursed, knowing he couldn't get in a good shot without harming his friend. _::Jazz we've got a situation!::_

_::Jazz isn't here. He's gone to take Optimus to your position. How can I help Jolt?::_ Ravage replied swiftly.

_::If you can get any of the Seekers awake send 'em here. Sunstorm is fighting Jetfire, and winning::_ Jolt replied in a rush. That was when Sunstorm got a hold of Jetfire and tossed the smaller Seeker aside. Jolt aimed a blast and fired but the rogue dodged with a sneer. A shriek came out of nowhere and an almost invisible blast catapulted Sunstorm backwards.

"Thundercracker," Sunstorm sneered as the other massive Seeker seemed to appear out of nowhere just as Jetfire landed hard next to Jolt. One of his wings was leaking energon and he looked annoyed.

"Dirty cheater," he snarled and Hot Rod snickered.

"He's a 'Con," Hot Rod drawled. "You all cheat." Jetfire just shook his head in disgust. There was a popping sound and Skywarp joined his twin. Starscream was right behind him and the three Seekers formed a barruer between Sunstorm and the island.

"I'll be back," Sunstorm hissed. "You haven't seen the last of me yet."

"That' cause you ain't dead," Skywarp drawled easily.

"We can remedy that if ya like," Jazz's voice added and Skywarp snickered. Sunstorm just growled and flew away.

"Mirage, Hot Rod, I can't tell you how glad I am to see you two online and well," Optimus Prime said as Starscream landed with TC right behind him and Skywarp warped away.

While the new arrivals watched in astonishment Starscream turned to Jetfire and said, "Go have Flashfire fix you up. I'll cover the rest of your watch." Jetfire nodded and left without another word. The young Decepticon SIC wasn't about to argue when he had an injured wing that the medic could fix.

"I'm afraid I have bad news," Mirage said. "Especially since it turns out some of what Ramjet said while he was running his mouth was true." This was gonna be good. Not.


	18. Slanted Truth

Author's Note: Thanks to _Exactlywhat _who reviewed the last chapter. Enjoy and I own nothing but my OCs

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><p><strong>Revenge-Slanted Truth<strong>

_"Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies"-Proverb_

"So what exactly have you heard?" Optimus Prime asked as he, Starscream, Mirage, and Hot Rod sat in a relatively private room.

"Let's see," Mirage said, trying to order his thoughts. "Ramjet said that Starscream betrayed and killed Megatron, took over the Decepticons, killed Shockwave and was allied to you. I'm guessing some of that is his slant on things."

"And you?" Prime asked Hot Rod.

"Nothing," Hot Rod said with and exasperated sigh. "All he told me was to find Diego Garcia."

"It was need to know," Mirage replied with a smirk. "You didn't need to know."

"Thanks," the younger mech drawled and Optimus sighed.

"Starscream did kill Megatron and take over the Decepticons, that much is true as is the fact of our alliance," Optimus said. "He didn't kill Shockwave though."

"The where is Shockwave?" Hot Rod asked. "I hope not alive."

"Oh he's perfectly dead. I just didn't kill him," Starscream did. "Your illustrious leader did." Both Hot Rod and Mirage nodded, accepting that at face value. They both knew their leader had the potential to take out the deadly Decepticon and took his defeat at face value.

"Ramjet also said there were supplies on the _Nemesis_ that would allow them to make drones," Mirage said. Starscream shook his head even before the Autobot spy had finished his sentence.

"As far as I know there's nothing to animate them," the Decepticon leader said.

"Ramjet didn't seem worried about it," Mirage said and Starscream's optics dimmed as he commed someone else.

"Flashfire says that Ramjet just might be able to animate them if he had a scientist," Starscream said after a moment. "But he doesn't have a scientist."

"Yes he does," a tired voice said. "Or he could. Overcast."

"Oh slag," Starscream growled and Jetfire nodded in agreement.

"Last Skysong knew he was coming to Earth and we all know he hates you," Jetfire continued.

"Does this happen to be the mech that designed the lightning generator?" Optimus asked and both Jetfire and Starscream nodded.

"I thought he was offline," Mirage said, confused.

"Unfortunately not," Starscream drawled. "Scalpel managed to fix him up. Hook and Flashfire both blatantly refused to fix up that slag heap."

"Maybe that had something to do with the fact that you slagged him in the first place for blasting you in the arm with a plasma gun," Jetfire said between snickers. Mirage's shoulder twicthed, Optimus was fighting laughter at that, and Hot Rod gave in to the laughter.

"Possibly," Starscream admitted with a shrug. "Now don't you have better things to do?"

"Nope," Jetfire replied with a smirk. "Safer things than baiting you perhaps but not better." Starscream just sighed and shook his head at that.

"Dismissed," Optimus said. "And thank you Mirage and Hot Rod." The two nodded and headed out, Jetfire following them.

"Do you ever regret killing Megatron?" the Autobot leader asked as soon as they were alone.

"Never," Starscream said, surprise showing in his optics. "Why?"

"Just checking," Optimus replied and left without another word, leaving a bemused Starscream behind.


	19. Misconceptions

Author's Note: Thanks to _Exactlywhat_ and _I am Blueberry_ (Thanks so much for the info!) for reviewing the last chapter! Enjoy and I own nothing but my OCs.

P.S. My excuse for the quote...no excuse...

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><p><strong>Revenge-Misconceptions<strong>

_"You all need some Jesus. What's your name?"_

_"Jesus"-A Personal Finance Skit_

Hot Rod used to think he knew everything there was to know about Decepticons. They followed Megatron, killed anyone against them, had no mercy, and no sense of loyalty. What was left to know? Turns out he was completely wrong. The first Decepticon he actually met was Jetfire and that was because Hot Rod was looking for Bumblebee. Instead he came upon Jolt. He found the cobalt blue warrior speaking to the Decepticon Seeker who had baited Starscream earlier and hesitated before joining them. "Hey Hot Rod," Jolt said with an easy smile. "This is Jetfire. Jetfire this is my friend Hot Rod."

"Nice to meet you," Jetfire said easily with a nod.

"Same I guess," Hot Rod replied reluctantly and both Jetfire and Jolt snickered.

"Not really you mean," Jetfire drawled with a grin. "That's okay. You'll get used to it."

"I take it you're looking for 'Bee," Jolt said and Hot Rod nodded. "He isn't here," the cobalt mech continued. "He's guarding Sam and Mikaela. He'll be here in an hour or so though and you two can catch up."

"Who're Sam and Mikaela?" Hot Rod asked, pretty much as confused as he had been before.

"Sam's the Autobot liaison to the humans and Mikaela is his girlfriend," Jetfire drawled just as another figure came up to the small group. Hot Rod stiffened slightly as he recognized Thundercracker but the sadistic 'Con didn't even look at him.

"Starscream's looking for you," he said and Jetfire nodded slowly.

"Lead on buddy," he drawled and Thundercracker let out an exasperated sigh before leading the other Decepticon away.

"Why would Starscream want to see him?" Hot Rod asked, not able to keep disbelief out of his tone.

"Jetfire is the Decepticon SIC," Jolt said easily. "Don't be deceived by his age; he's dead clever with strategy."

"I think I liked it better when everything was black and white," Hot Rod said and Jolt just laughed. They both silenced as they heard the rev of an engine and a yellow camaro came into view. Instantly the car transformed into a widely grinning Bumblebee.

"You're late," were the first teasing words out of the yellow mech's mouth.

"I am not," Hot Rod argued with fake indignation. "I arrived precisely on time." Both friends managed to pretend they were serious for about sixty seconds before they cracked up laughing. Jolt just sighed and shook his head.

"I can't say I've missed this," he drawled. "It's like having Skids and Mudflap or Sideswipe and Sunstreaker around. You miss them until they arrive and start causing trouble."

"Thanks a lot," Hot Rod teased.

"You're being insulting," Bee added with a grin.

"You're right," Jolt said in a serious tone. "I'm insulting both sets of twins."

"Hey," Bee and Hot Rod yelped as Jolt started laughing.

"Welcome back Hot Rod," Jolt drawled before heading off toward the proving grounds, still chuckling to himself.


	20. Clash and Double Cross

Author's Note: Thanks to _Exactlywhat_ (in fact here's your something bad) and _I am Blueberry_ (glad to know I got his characterization right) for reviewing the last chapter! Enjoy and I own nothing but my OCs

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><p><strong>Revenge-Clash and Double Cross<strong>

_"We're surrounded. That simplifies the problem"-Lewis B. Puller, USMC_

Peace never lasts. Ratchet should have known that by now but even then he was still exasperated when they were attacked by Decepticons. Starscream and Optimus had decided it was in their best interest to send a group of mechs and femmes to the _Nemesis_ just to make sure that the rogues go nothing from the Decepticon ship. Ratchet, Shadow, TC, Jolt, Jetfire, Jazz, Ironhide, Hot Rod, and Bumblebee had ended up volunteering to go. The trip to the sand buried Decepticon ship had been easy enough. When they had arrived there though the rogue Decepticons had alredy arrived and were removing supplies. What followed was entirely predictable; a battle.

Right now the Autobot medic was fighting Dreadwing (he had lost track of how many times they had kill this particular not quite drone only to have him show up again), Ironhide and TC were taking on Sunstorm and Lugnut, Shadow and Jetfire were holding off Ramjet, Jazz was beating Swindle, and Hot Rod and Bumblebee were taking on Misfire and Lightwire. That left Storm Surge, Overcast, and Fracture free ot fire upon them at will. The scientist and the femme were doing just that but Storm Surge simply seemed content to sit back and watch the show, a fact that was greatly annoying Ramjet.

"Storm Surge do something," he yelled as he dodged Shadow and Livewire shot over to engage the black femme in combat. Jolt lashed out with one of his whips and while the femme was distracted Shadow made the killing blow, sending the smoking corpse falling to the ground. Ramjet let out a yell of fury and plowed into Jetfire, sending the smaller Seeker hurtling to the ground.

"You seem to be doing fine on your own," Storm Surge drawled disinterestedly. "Besides I know where my loyalties lie."

The Autobots and rogues turned to stare at Storm Surge but the Decepticons seemed unfazed. "Didn't you know?" she drawled mockingly. "Starscream and himself hating each other was all part of the act." Ratchet had to admit it was genius. Whoever had been in charge of the plot against Megatron had made it impossible for the now offline leader of the Decepticons to know who was loyal to him and who was not. Ramjet was just as stunned as his companions. In fact the jet didn't seem to know what to do until Storm Surge calmly aimed and fired upon the savage Ramjet.

Then Ramjet let out a furious shriek and dove out of the way toward Storm Surge. As fate would have it that was just at the moment the comet dropped out of the atmosphere and came streaking through the sky. The result? Instant chaos.

Ramjet jerked to one side and on the ground Storm Surge, Bumblebee, and Hot Rod dove out of the way of the incoming chunk of metal. The meteor hit the ground with a boom and dust went flying everywhere. For several long minutes of complete silence Ratchet could see nothing but brown dust that floated slowly to the ground. Then his com hummed slightly.

_::Would somebody mind helping me out of this thing?::_ Blaster. That was the only mech it could be. With his intakes hissing slightly to rid his systems of the dust Ratchet headed for the crater where the pod had landed. As the dust cleared one glance revealed the problem. The place where the container shoulder have split apart was too dented the open.

"Ironhide get over and help me with this," Ratchet ordered and the black mech was at his side in two massive strides. Shadow landed whisper soft next two them as well.

"Whatever you need to do, do it quickly," she said. "It's too quiet. I don't like it." Ratchet nodded.

"Ironhide I need you to see if you can pull the top apart. I"m going to try to take apart some of the welding seems," he ordered and Ironhide did as he was told. A battlefield was never time to ask questions. It took them only a couple minutes to free Blaster but that was all the time the rogue Decepticons needed to regroup.

"Well we're surrounded," Nieva drawled slowly. "That simplifies the problem."

"What problem?" Shadow said dryly. "Enlighten me."

"The problem of finding them," Nieva said.

"Can we focus on the sarcasm later?" TC asked, sounding exasperated. "We've kind of got a battle to fight."

"You can't do two things at once," Nieva taunted her sparkmate. That was when Misfire fired the first shot and, surprisingly, hit something. It was a rock. Unfortunately for him it was right next to Nieva who returned fire. And the battle began again.


	21. Ridiculous

Author's Note: Thanks to _Riptide2, I am Blueberry_, and _Exactlywhat_ for reviewing the last chapter! Sorry this one is so short and I'll post the next one tonight (as long as there's no surprise power outage). Enjoy and I own nothing but my OCs

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><p><strong>Revenge-Ridiculous<strong>

_"Discipline is simply the art of making the soldiers fear their officers more than the enemy"- Helvetius_

"This is ridiculous," Jazz said. "I mean can't we go anywhere with y'all without bein' attacked?"

"Not likely," Shadow drawled with a smirk as she dodged a blast from an airborne drone. "Stuff like this always happens." With that said she took off from the ground to join TC, Nieva, and Jetfire in the air where she would have a higher chance of survival.

"Does stuff like this really always happen?" Hot Rod asked.

"Normally," Jolt said and Ratchet and Ironhide nodded in agreement.

"Anyone's comm working?" Storm Surge asked hopefully.

"Mine," Bumblebee said after a moment, dodging a blast.

"Comm Optimus," Ironhide ordered. "Tell him to send reinforcements to our location, and fast." Bumblebee did as he was told and reported moments later that reinforcements were on their way.

"Look out," Storm Surge yelped suddenly and pushed Jazz to the ground, a blast from one of the drones going over their fallen forms. "Now all we need is Shockwave back from the dead and this would be a slagging nightmare," the Decepticons grumbled as he helped the silver saboteur to his feet.

"Don't curse us," Nieva and Shadow both snapped from above him at the same time. Hot Rod snickered and Jazz shook his head. A massive explosion announced that both Nieva and Ironhide had aimed at the same target. The startled squeak and then a round of violent coughing from Misfire told them that they had both missed.

"Darn," Storm Surge drawled. "I almost thought for a minute that we could get rid of him."

"He's not even on your team anymore," Jazz protested, mystified.

"He's still a menace," Storm Surge replied before diving out of the way of a spare blast. That was when the reinforcements arrived. Instantly the rogue Decepticons were on the retreat but the Decepticons and their Autobot allies both knew they had been much too late. The rogues had all that they needed to create drones.

"We are so unlucky," Nieva hissed as she landed, shifting an injured wing slightly. The others couldn't help but silently agree as they looked over the battlefield. Things were just not going their way.


	22. A Hint of Mutiny

Author's Note: And this is the point where I warn you for the first time that we're getting close to the end. I'm not sure how close seeing as I haven't written ahead much on this story but I do know that everything is falling into place. Enjoy and I own nothing but my OCs

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><p><strong>Revenge-A Hint of Mutiny<strong>

_"Keith...darn it change your name, please. It's not scary and I'm embarrassed to say it. Boris, try that. Keith, ya know, oooh watch out for Keith!"-Boingo, Hoodwinked_

"We have the parts, yes, but we were almost killed!"

"Our fearless leader failed to anticipate that!"

Ramjet listened with silent fury as his troops angrily tore apart the day with harsh words, not even caring that he was listening. "And Storm Surge betrayed us," Fracture added. "Even Starscream would have guessed at betrayal before then." Ramjet's fury increased at the thought of being compared to his rival.

It was true that once he and Starscream had been friends but as the war tolled on Starscream made some decisions that Ramjet didn't approve of. It had stretched their friendship to the breaking point. The last straw had been when Starscream had knowingly sent Jetfire into a dangerous and possibly deadly position alone. What was worse was that Jetfire had agreed with the SIC about the necessity of the ploy. That had been the end of any respect Ramjet had held for Starscream. It had also created a rift between Jetfire and Ramjet that was now a great chasm.

"I can hear you know," Ramjet snarled as he stepped out of the shadows. "We have the parts and we all survived. By the time the traitor informs Starscream and the others of our position we'll have enough drones functional to hold them off."

"What we just did was a foolish and hastily planned attack," Sunstorm argued. That gave Ramjet a pause for a moment. When Sunstorm actually stopped thinking he was a god and started questioning his lifespan maybe it was time to worry. Then he quickly shook that thought off. This plan would work. Primus knew it had too.

"How was I to know that Starscream would send someone to check on the _Nemesis_?" he sneered. "Unlike you I do not claim to be a deity."

"You also don't claim to think," Sunstorm growled. Faster than he had ever done before Ramjet whipped out a gun and aimed it point blank at Sunstorm's chassis.

"Would you like to repeat that?" he growled.

"I'm leaving," the gold Seeker said coolly. "Don't bother trying to stop me." Then he took to the air before Ramjet had time to fire.

"Anyone else?" Ramjet asked with forced calm. No one else moved for several long minutes.

Then Overcast broke the silence saying simply, "I will begin working on the drones. Anyone unarmed can come and help me to speed up the process." With that said he turned and headed into the old storage building as the tension leaked out of the group. Still Ramjet couldn't help but feel a prickle of foreboding. Sunstorm was an excellent fighter. If the Seeker defected to the other side Starscream would have better information as well as gaining another deadly fighter. They very well could be in trouble then. With a sigh he pushed the thought away and turned his gaze to the sky, always watching for any sign of the approaching enemy. It didn't even cross his mind to think that the enemy might be behind him.


	23. Intel

Author's Note: Thanks to _Riptide2_, _I am Blueberry_, and _Exactlywhat_ (glad you like the quotes) for reviewing the last chapter. Enjoy and I own nothing but my OCs

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><p><strong>Revenge- Intel<strong>

_"The difficult we do immediately. The impossible takes a little longer"-Air Force Motto_

One benefit of having Storm Surge defect was that now they could get a good idea of what Ramjet was planning. Starscream and Optimus had gotten all the information they could from Storm Surge and were slowly piecing together the details of Ramjet's plan. Starscream had to admit that for all his dislike of his once friend Ramjet was a good planner. For the most part there were no large details that need to be addressed in the plan. The only issue they had found had actually come from Ale. The new public relations liaison had come into the room in the middle of the debate, listened for a good sixty seconds, and then had asked a question that neither leader had considered. "Do they have any communications?"

The answer to that was no. Ramjet had no one that had any proficiency in communications. The solution then, as Ale pointed out patiently, was glaringly simple. "Just shut off any means of communication they have besides speaking out loud," she told them and then walked out of the room, heels clicking on the cement floor as she went. He and Prime had spoken to Blaster and Soundwave and both communications experts seemed confident that they could pull it off. The question then was why Starscream was so worried about this whole ordeal. The answer was not so simple.

Before the war and even during most of the war Starscream and Ramjet had been good friends, allies, and had always watched each other's backs. In the Decepticon ranks as the years of war passed alliances had been tested but Ramjet had followed Starscream's lead without question before the incident with Jetfire. That being said Starscream knew the way Ramjet's processor worked inside and out. That was why one detail in the plan bothered him. Ramjet's plan accounted for the fact that Scalpel was there. To most people it wouldn't seem to be a big deal but Starscream knew for a fact that Scalpel was MIA. The sadistic medic known for experimenting on those he fixed had not been seen since the Jetfire incident which had taken place shortly after Scalpel had repaired Overcast.

What then made Ramjet so confident that Scalpel could be found and used in the plan? The question was keeping Starscream from his recharge and he knew only one who could answer that question. Flashfire was the only one alive who might know what kind of modifications Scalpel had placed on Overcast when he had fixed the scientist. Starscream found the medic sitting on a berth in the med bay looking over a data pad that accounted for all the supplies in the med bay. "May I ask you something?"Starscream asked in an ironic tone.

"Only if it's important," Flashfire said in response to the jibe but she put the data pad aside to give her leader her full attention. It wasn't often that an uninjured Starscream was seen in the med bay to ask her anything.

"Do you know what kind of modifications Scalpel put on Overcast when he fixed the scientist?" Starscream asked her.

"I can't say specifically but I can guess," Flashfire replied. "While he was fixing Overcast he asked many questions about sibling bonds and programming. Both Soundwave and Hook literally threw him out of their offices over the three joors that her worked to bring back the scientist."

"What does this have to do with modifications?" Starscream asked her, dreading the answer.

"I believe that Scapel hoped Overcast would feel in debt to him. Scalpel was probably attempting to place some kind of link between the two of them so that they could find each other and Overcast could repay the debt. When Overcast didn't feel indebted to Scalpel the modification was never mentioned. Hook thought as much and I have always suspected that was the case," Flashfire said.

"That's what I was afraid of," Starscream admitted. "Thank you for your time Flashfire." He was out of the door before she could respond and looking for Optimus. The fact that Ramjet could possibly locate Scalpel with Overcast's help could change everything. It could be the difference between life or death.


	24. Silent but Deadly

Author's Note: Thanks to _Exactlywhat_, _I am Blueberry _(same here. Hoping to get it moving and when it does it'll go fast), and _Riptide2_ for reviewing the last chapter! Enjoy and I own nothing but my OCs

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><p><strong>Revenge-Silent but Deadly<strong>

_"You can see me? Nobody sees me; do you hear? Nobody sees me! I'm invisible"-Claude, Heroes_

Even as Starscream rushed to take information to Optimus Prime Jetfire was getting a surprising visit. It was ten at night, two hours before his watch started, but the Seeker couldn't seem to recharge. That was how he had ended up with his back to the jungle facing the coast as if looking for answers. His mind wandered through the events of the day, lingering on the news that Ramjet had the pieces he needed to create drones. He was so immersed in his thoughts that he heard nothing until he was almost yanked off his feet. "Remember me?" a voice asked and it was so void of sneering that it took Jetfire a moment to process who it was.

"Sunstorm?" he asked tentatively, like a child unsure he had gotten the right answer.

"That's me alright," Sunstorm said dryly. "I had a fun time getting through patrols to get here but I made it. And I didn't even have to work to find you."

"Aren't you supposed to be with Ramjet acting as his lapdog," Jetfire sneered, ignoring the voice of reason. He was rewarded with a dry bark of laughter.

"Not likely. Ramjet's a fool and I know what he intends to do. I've left him," Sunstorm said.

"Why?" Jetfire asked, trying to twist around so he could see his captor's face. It didn't work so well.

"I'm getting there. Your leader has probably already found out from Flashfire that Ramjet has a way to find Scapel," Sunstorm said softly. "That is true. What Starscream doesn't know is that Scalpel brings with him a virus that once set free will wipe out every unvaccinated Cybertronian. Scalpel is the only one with the vaccine and he won't share it. Ramjet doesn't care though. He just wants revenge. Make sure to tell Starscream everything I just told you. I will see you at the final battle brother."

"What?" Jetfire stammered out, processor whirling.

"Make sure they're not going to shoot me," Sunstorm said and then he was going leaving Jetfire dazed and alone on the beach.


	25. Genius or Insanity

Author's Note: Thanks to _Riptide2_, _Exactlywhat_, and _I am Blueberry_ for reviewing the last chapter! Enjoy and I own nothing but my OCs

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><p><strong>Revenge-Genius or Insanity<strong>

_"Genius is one of the many forms of insanity"-Cesare Lombroso_

Some said that genius and insanity were not that far apart. Ratchet was beginning to believe them. It all started when Jetfire came in spouting what they all wanted to dismiss as a ridiculous fairy tale. The problem was, as Starscream had reluctantly admitted, that it sounded too much like something Ramjet would do. Add that to the fact that Sunstorm was no fool, Scalpel was insane, and Flashfire suspected they had some way to get the medic to Earth and you came up with something that sounded plausible. That was unfortunate.

Now Ratchet and Flashfire were trying to come up with anything about Scalpel's virus and how to counter it with little or no information. The result was two irritable medics that everyone avoided like they had the plague. "How's it going?" Ok, almost everyone. Ratchet glanced at his sparkmate with a dark glare.

"How do you think?" he retorted and she gave him a dry smile, shoving Nova into his arms. The sparkling chirped in her sleep and cuddle up next to him with a sound that was almost a purr.

"Do you know what Jetfire told me?" she asked softly but her tone was deadly. Ratchet knew from the bond that something had ticked off Shadow. He pitied anyone who had made her this angry; they were going to pay for it.

"What?" he asked calmly but he was worried. Jolt had told the medic that his friend had been acting strangely in the hours since Sunstorm had delivered his disturbing warning.

"He said that Sunstorm called him brother. Do you know what that means?" Shadow asked coldly.

"That Ramjet sparked not one but two mechs and kept them apart?" Ratchet asked, unsure where Shadow was going with this. The icy fury in his sparkmate's tone wasn't fitting with what he was hearing. There was no reason for the unnatural anger that was flowing to him through the bond.

"No," she said, anger obvious in her tone. "It means Jetfire had a twin that he was never told about it."

"What?" Ratchet asked, his tone suddenly cold.

"I've calculated the time frame. Sunstorm is roughly the same age as Jetfire and Ramjet's sparkmate died just a joor after sparking him," Shadow said. "There's no other explanation. It also means Ramjet purposely lied, probably to both of them." In Cybertron twins were special but the Seekers had always been secretive. Their ways were still a mystery to Ratchet and for everything he learned there was always something else that he didn't know or understand.

"What does that mean for Ramjet?" he asked, guessing by her tone that it wasn't good.

"You have to understand that separating twins at the time they're sparked for our kind can result in sparkshock and death. Doing so results in a sentence of equal severity even if both survived, "she said, her voice void of emotion and her end of the bond a frozen abyss.

"In other words it's a death sentence," Ratchet said, understand. Shadow nodded. "Does Jetfire know or even suspect?"

"Not that I know and I'm guessing Sunstorm found out on his own," Shadow told him.

"So what do you plan to do?" he asked.

"Spread the word through the bonds I share. Jetfire is family as well as a Seeker. The law is clear on what must happen and when Jetfire finds out I'm not sure that he won't kill his creator himself. We need to prevent that at all costs. He wouldn't survive the guilt," she said. Then she turned and left the room leaving Ratchet alone with Nova. The Autobot medic had about sixty seconds of silence before his peace was invaded, this time by Flashfire.

"I have an idea," she told him and her optics were bright with hope. "We don't know what virus Scalpel is using, correct?"

"Yes," Ratchet said flatly.

"We don't need to work to counter a specific a virus then. We need to make a blanket that will at least slow all the viruses if not destroy most of them," she said and her tone was bright.

"Is that even possible?" Ratchet asked, slightly stunned.

"I don't know," Flashfire admitted. "Hook and I were working on something like it before his demise but we never had a chance to test it. It could probably use some tweaking."

"Do you have the program with you?" Ratchet asked and Flashfire nodded, handing over a data pad.

"It's a pretty extensive software and it took us a long time to create. It'd be nice to have another set of optics looking over it to see if we missed anything," she said with a dry grin.

"I don't know whether to say this is genius or insanity," Ratchet said as he flipped the pad on and began looking over the program.

"A little of both," Flashfire said. "I'll be back in a couple of hours. Right now I have to track down Shadow to check on her and that's easier said than done." Ratchet laughed but he was quickly absorbed in the programming even as the other medic left the room.


	26. Heed the Call

Author's Note: Thanks to _Exactlywhat_ for reviewing the last chapter! So sorry for not updating sooner...I know what's going to happen but I'm having a hard time getting there. Enjoy and I own nothing but my OCs

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><p><strong>Revenge-Heed the Call<strong>

_"You, you, and you panic. The rest of you come with me"-US Marine Corp Gunnery Sgt_

"You sure Scalpel is going to be here?" Misfire. Ramjet held back a growl. Why couldn't Misfire have gone with Starscream instead of him? It would have made things so much easier than they were now.

"I'm sure," he snapped, holding back the urge to blast Misfire into oblivion.

"I'm just saying that your plans haven't worked so well lately," Misfire said, backing off. They went back to waiting in silence. That didn't last long.

"You sure he's coming?" Swindle asked and Ramjet sighed.

"Yes I'm sure," he snapped sharply and Swindle shrugged.

"Just checking," the other rogue said. The silence lasted for another sixty seconds.

Then Lugnut said," Hey Ramjet?"

"Yes he's coming," Ramjet shrieked, whirling on the other rogue.

"Comet incoming," Lugnut said after a slightly stunned silence.

"Oh." Ramjet turned back to look at the sky in time to see a flaming comet fall through the atmosphere and crash to the ground. The capsule hissed open and Scalpel stepped out into the open. "Welcome to the Earth," Ramjet said smoothly.

"And some welcome it is," Scalpel said with a sneer. "Megatron dead and that traitor Starscream taking over. It will be a pleasure to be rid of him once and for all." Ramjet felt himself begin to smile. For once something was going right.

"You brought the virus?" he asked.

"Of course," Scalpel snapped. "Do you honestly think that I would leave something this destructive where someone like Starscream, or worse, Prime could get a hold of it?"

_Yes_ Ramjet thought but he said, "Of course not but you have to see what I've been dealing with." Scalpel nodded, looking over the group.

"A severe lack of intelligence and skill," the medic sneered, ignoring the grumble of unrest and dislike from the rogues. "With my virus though it won't matter how poorly they perform. We will guaranteed victory. When do we attack?"

"Tomorrow at sunrise on Diego Garcia just at the change of watches," Ramjet said. The final piece had slipped into place an now he would have revenge on Starscream even if it cost him his life.

What Ramjet didn't know was that Mirage was watching the entire exchange. As soon as the Autobot spy heard what was being said he shifted into his alt mode and sped away to inform the others. Whatever Flashfire and Ratchet had come up with would have to be enough. They didn't have any more time to spare.


	27. Sunstorm's Quest

Author's Note: Thanks to _I am Blueberry_, _Riptide2_, and _Exactlywhat_ for reviewing the last chapter! Enjoy and I own nothing but my OCs

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><p><strong>Revenge- Sunstorm's Quest<strong>

_"The end may justify the means as long as there is something that justifies the end"-Leon Trotsky_

Unknown to Mirage there was another mech that noted Scalpel's arrival. Contrary to popular belief Sunstorm could be sneaky if he wanted to. He had heard everything Ramjet and Scalpel had said and knew he had to find help. There were two that he could ask for help even though he had sworn to himself he would never ask them for anything. Worse yet they were Autobots lost and unaware that their comrades had arrived on Earth. Still Sunstorm knew he would have to try it; if not for his sake then for his twin's.

Sunstorm had learned the truth on accident. The golden Seeker had originally believed that he had been abandoned as a sparkling. The truth was much more disturbing. Ramjet had separated the twins once they had been sparked for an experiment with the help of Overcast. Sunstorm, the weaker one at the time, had been given to Dirge and Jetfire was the one that Ramjet had chosen to keep. The separation should have killed them but somehow both had survived. The problem was that the bond existed between them. Sunstorm hadn't even been aware of it until he had overheard the truth from an argument between Overcast and Ramjet.

Ramjet had been worried that the twins would discover the bond between them and turn on him. Overcast was convinced the two of them would never know. And he would have been right had Sunstorm not heard them. That was the end of Sunstorm's loyalty to anyone but himself. Ramjet was a fool if he thought he could lie to the one that he had lied to constantly and tried to condemn to death.

Those thoughts more than anything were what convinced Sunstorm to reluctantly turn and head for the Arctic regions of the planet. It would be a long and chilling flight but it would be worth it to save his twin and see Ramjet defeated. Then maybe Sunstorm could live the rest of his life in relative peace. The farther north Sunstorm went the colder it got. His internal systems struggled to combat the chill and the gold Seeker began to question how the mechs he was looking for lived in this.

Sunstorm landed on a solid sheet of ice above the icy arctic waters and made his way slowly through the wind and snow. The chill was threatening to put the gold Seeker into stasis and now Sunstorm wondered if the mechs he was looking for were even still online. For all he knew the cold had already offlined them and he would find their corpses on the ground if he even made it that far. The doubts tugged at his spark until a gun pressed against the back of his head and a cold voice asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you two," Sunstorm replied without moving.

"Why?" a slightly younger voice asked.

"I need your help," Sunstorm said. And then without any sign of warning he turned so the gun was aimed squarely in his faceplates. "Can we talk?"


	28. Short Warning

Author's Note: Thanks to _I am Blueberry_, _Exactlywhat_, and _Riptide2_ for reviewing the last chapter. You're about to find out what was going on in the last chapter. Enjoy and I own nothing but my OCs. Also a short story about why Ale took the job is posted as chapter 4 of The Difficult Decision

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><p><strong>Revenge-Short Warning<strong>

_"Secret operations are essential in war; upon them the army relies to make its every move"-Sun Tzu_

It was just after midnight when Mirage arrived at Diego Garcia with disturbing news. "Scalpel has arrived and they're attacking a dawn," he blurted out. All optics focused on the spy.

Then Ratchet and Flashfire both snapped," Frag."

"The antivirus isn't ready yet," Ratchet hissed.

"Then we have to stop Scalpel before he can release it," Blackout said coldly.

"Scalpel will be the most protected though," Ironhide pointed out.

"I may have a solution for that," Blackout replied. "Scorponok is fully operational."

"He's going to need help though," Jazz pointed out. "Scorponok may be good but there are going to be hundreds of drones probably protecting that infernal medic."

"Air support can help with some of that," Thundercracker said and Starscream nodded. "Crossfire and Barricade can also take two separate teams around back. If it's a fight they want then it's a fight they'll get."

"I can take a team around back too," Jazz added and Optimus nodded.

"Now all we need is a whole lot of luck to make this work," Starscream said dryly. Blackout nodded solemnly but Shadow's expression darkened. She glanced at her brothers who slowly nodded. TC, Skywarp, Tavianna, and Interra seemed in agreement to whatever she was thinking.

"We'll make it work," she said coldly. "If there's ever a chance of failure we'll cut in and take the virus out of the atmosphere to be destroyed. Even if it means our deaths."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Jazz said, for once completely serious. That was when a massive explosion rocked the very structure the base was set upon. The gathered Cybertronians rushed for the door. Blackout took off, heading for the Decepticon base while Starscream and the other fliers headed for the source of the explosion. It had just dawned on all of them that they may be too late.

Sure enough, an true to their current luck, Ramjet, his group of rogue operatives, and the newly made drones had arrived. And Misfire had decided to announce it with a bang. Much to Ramjet's dismay the display had called all forces to where he was. Scalpel was well protected as they predicted but none of the drones, or anyone else for that matter, was exactly prepared when Scorponok exploded from the ground. The massive metal scorpion sent drones flying every which way and generally caused chaos. The others leapt into the fray, plans thrown aside. The time for talking was over. It was do or die now.

The first time Jetfire got an idea of how different this battle was going to be was when he felt a tug of something that was almost satisfaction in his spark. An emotion that didn't belong to him. That was when he saw them. The gold Seeker was obviously Sunstorm and also the source of the satisfaction. The two following were not familiar to him, at least not by name. They were to the Autobots, TC, Skywarp, and Starscream though. He felt it through the link with them.  
>"Fireflight and Skydive," Thundercracker explained quickly before dodging what would have been a lucky shot of Misfire's had it connected.<p>

While the rogues were distracted by the newcomers Scorponok evidentially saw his chance and there was a shriek as a distracted Overcast was taken down by the enormous metal scorpion. Dreadwing turned to attack Scorponok only to clash with Blackout. Sunstorm's optics found Jetfire and the other Seeker nodded. Ramjet noticed the exchange and spun with a growl, firing at the one who he had raised. No one should have been able to move fast enough but someone was.

One moment Sunstorm was fifty feet away and in the next instant he was somehow taking the blow to the chassis that was meant for his twin. Jetfire felt a blazing pain encompass his spark and they both went down in a cloud of smoke. The smaller Seeker crouched next to the dying form of his golden twin, optics wide with shock. "Do me one...favor," Sunstorm hissed out.

"Anything," Jetfire promised quickly, fury rising over him like a red tidal wave.

"Kill...him," Sunstorm growled. There was no need to clarify who _he_ was. Ramjet.

"I promise brother," Jetfire said. Then he was in the air faster than he had ever moved before. And the world became drenched in red.


	29. The Worst Mistake

Author's Note: One more chapter to go! I have no idea if I'll keep going with Shadow's universe after Shades of Grey is finished (and there's one more one shot to go in The Difficult Decision with the other five) but if you guys want me to I can try to do something (though it will probably just be an everyday fic). Thanks to _Exactlywhat_,_ I am Blueberry_, and _Riptide2_ for reviewing the last chapter! Enjoy and I own nothing but my OCs

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><p><strong>Revenge-The Worst Mistake<strong>

_"One bullet. You were right. I tip my hat to you...one legend to another"-Rattlesnake Jake, Rango_

Jetfire and Ramjet collided with a crack that stunned everyone, even the drones. It seemed that Ramjet had made the worst mistake of his entire existence in attempting to kill Jetfire. With all optics on the violent air battles suddenly breaking out everywhere Jazz, Mirage, Crossfire, Barricade, Ground Hog, Motorhead, and Roller Force saw their chance and took it. Scalpel was besieged before he knew what hit him. The scientist was literally ripped limb from limb. He never stood a chance. Dreadwing crashed to the ground as well and Scorponok and Jazz, working as a team took down Lugnut. Misfire turned tail and ran. The Decepticons and Autobots left him, knowing that there was nothing he could ever do to threaten them.

Ramjet and Jetfire were locked in a death match. Jetfire was outclassed but furious. And he knew Ramjet's maneuvers inside and out. The other aerials, even the Autobots, left the two alone. Even though Skydive and Fireflight were just as incensed by their comrade's death they didn't have Jetfire's right to revenge. Instead the last two Autobot fliers worked on taking out Swindle while the others worked on the rapidly depleting amount of drones. Scourge was also engaged in a fight with Inferno, Ironhide, and Chromia. One that he wouldn't win.

Jetfire was injured and in pain. His spark throbbed at the loss of the twin he had only just been reunited with. His fury far outweighed his pain however. Caution kept him from death many times during the fight with the mech he had once adored and respected. Still he wasn't winning. That was when his com buzzed to life. He twitched and Ramjet got a shot into his side. _::Do you want us to distract him for a moment?::_ Skydive asked.

_::A chance to get in a good breath and aim would be appreciated::_ Jetfire replied. He knew any of the others would have helped but he could feel the fury over the bond a knew that any one of them would also kill Ramjet in the process. That was why they hung back. This was one death that Jetfire needed to be responsible for.

_::Can do::_ Fireflight's still youthful voice said. They both dove Ramjet at once, causing the conehead to release Jetfire. The smaller Seeker backpedaled in the air and warmed up his gun, aiming directly at Ramjet's spark chamber. The two aerial Autobots darted out of the way and Ramjet focused dark red optics on Jetfire.

"You always were a useless, soft sparked coward," Ramjet said, glancing at the gun focused on his chassis and then back at Jetfire's face. "But this is low for even you."

"So be," Jetfire said coldly. And then he fired. The blast didn't miss. Ramjet went hurtling through the air to crash into the choppy waves and sunk deep under the water. They waited several minutes but he never resurfaced. Slowly the aerials landed and everyone put away their guns. The fight had been won but at what price?


	30. High Price

Author's Note: Last Chapter! Thanks to _Exactlywhat_, _I am Blueberry_ (it'll show up in Shades of Grey), and _Starfire201_ (Glad you reviewed and at least liked it somewhat!) for reviewing the last chapter! And a special thanks to everyone who followed Aggressive Negotiations and then this! I have decided I will do an everyday fic for this titled _What It Takes To Live_ the first chapter of which will be posted tonight but it will probably only be updated once a week or once every other week. I own nothing but my OCs and enjoy!

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><p><strong>Revenge-High Price<strong>

_"Nobody can bring you peace but yourself"-Ralph Waldo Emerson_

The Autobots and Decepticons had paid a high price for peace. In the battle they had lost Sunstorm, Crossfire, and Buzzsaw. Bumblebee and Jolt had both been highly injured as well as Mudflap and Skids. The virus and all the knowledge of how to recreate it was destroyed in a massive bonfire that became and almost funeral like occasion. For a day or so solemn silence pervaded over the area. For many hours everyone wondered if everything would return to normal. That was when both Chromia's and Shadow's sparklings decided they would come early. The two sparklings came into existance within hours of each other, stretching Ratchet and Flashfire to the limit. Chromia and Ironhide had christened their femme Starrunner. After some deliberation Shadow and Ratchet named their mech Sunstorm. The memory of the unusual golden Seeker would live on in their sparkling.

Nova was out of her league when it came to having a younger sibling. She had finally spoke her first word (a Cybertronian curse much to the amusement of Shadow and the exasperation of Ratchet) and had expanded her vocabulary since then. The fact that Sunstorm was so helpless and unable to speak seemed to mystify her. Ratchet was working on her second frame but Shadow was more concerned by the fact that Nova was learning to walk and get into more trouble than ever.

Jolt and Skysong's relationship had blossomed somehow and now neither was far from the other. It amused the ones who had noticed the attraction earlier and the others took it in stride. The news came that Elita was carrying and life began to look up on Diego Garcia. Jolt and Skysong's bonding took the next step to normal and the final one was caused by the United States Government and would turn their life into chaos.

Ale came over one afternoon looking more frazzled than she had since she had come to work on the island. "The government wishes me to inform you that they are going to inform the general public of your existence," she said. The she turned and walked off mumbling about public image and "bright" government minds with their stupid timing issues. And life moved on.

It continued as it had since the beginning of time and probably will for thousands of years before our sun even considers going out. As injuries as wont to do they healed, inside and out, and the boundary lines began to blur between Decepticon and Autobot. And a new era of peace began. They could only pray to Primus that it would last.

The End

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><p><em>For those of you who are wondering what my next big project series is going to be since except for **Shades of Grey** and the everyday fic I'm finished with this (and I'm not sure **Shades of Grey** has a lot of chapters left) here is what I'm planning on starting_

The Livewire Series;

Also and Transformers fic featuring all humanized transformers and no earth. The first of which is _High School Haven_ and the first chapter will be posted tonight. No idea how good it'll be so consider yourself warned! Thanks so much for reading! _SunlightOnTheWater  
><em>


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